In 2023, Brazil was the country with the largest share of LGBT+ population at 15 percent. Spain and Switzerland followed next, with 14 and 13 percent of their population identifying as LGBT+, respectively.

In a global survey conducted in 2023, three percent of respondents declared to be homosexual, gay, or lesbian. In Brazil and the Netherlands, for instance, nine percent, instead, identified as bisexual, representing the largest group of bisexual respondents among the 30 surveyed countries. Moreover, two percent of the interviewees in Switzerland said to be pansexual or omnisexual. Pansexuality describes people who feel attracted to other people regardless of their biological sex, gender, or gender identity, whereas omnisexuality refers to people attracted to people of all gender identities and sexual orientations.

In 2021, around ** percent of individuals living in the District of Columbia identified as LGBT. Colorado, Arizona, Nevada, and Oregon also had high rates, exceeding *** percent. Mississippi and North Dakota had the lowest rates of LGBT populations, the only states with less than **** percent.

Over the 2015-2018 period, nearly ******* people aged over ** defined themselves as something other than heterosexual in Canada: ******* identified as lesbian or gay, while ******* identified as bisexual. The provinces with the largest number of non-heterosexuals people were Ontario and Quebec, which are also the most populous provinces in the country. In addition, with the exception of Quebec, bisexual people outnumbered lesbian or gay people in all provinces.

This statistics shows a ranking of the friendliness towards the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community in Latin America in 2016, broken down by country. In that year, Uruguay and Argentina ranked first on the LGBT friendliness scale, whereas Paraguay came in last with a score of 14.

The cities in Europe where survey respondents most commonly indicated that they were a good place to live for gay and lesbian people were Rekjavik,Valletta and Groningen in 2023. In general, the cities which ranked as the best place to live for lesbian and gay people in Europe were in Nordic countries (Norway, Iceland, Copenhagen, Sweden, Finland), western European countries (Luxembourg, Germany, the Netherlands), and southern European countries (Italy, Malta, Spain). The five cities with the fewest respondents indicating that they were a good place to live were all in south-eastern Europe, with the bottom two both coming from Turkey (Diyarbakir) and Albania (Tirania). Turkey tends to rank so lowly due to the influence of traditionalist and religious social norms, which do not recognize LGBTQ relationships as being on a par as heterosexual relationships and lead to more commonly held homophobic views.

Malta was rated the safest travel destination for members of the LGBT community, according to a 2023 ranking. With 13 points, the European country outperformed Canada and Switzerland - the following safest countries in the list. Out of the 12 best-performing countries that year, eight are located in Europe.

LGBT rights in Canada

Back in 2005, Canada was the fourth country worldwide to legalize same-sex marriage. The North American nation is in the vanguard of LGBT rights and has passed multiple laws assuring equality for this group, such as allowing adoption by same-sex couples, protecting transgender rights, and banning conversion therapy. Meanwhile, its land neighbor, the United States, had the share of the population that identifies as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender increased steadily between 2012 and 2021.

Acceptance around the globe

According to a survey conducted in 2021 in 27 countries, opinions on the rights of same-sex couples varied greatly around the world. Western European and American nations were particularly supportive of marriage or, failing that, some form of legal recognition for homosexual couples.

Spain was ranked fourth out of 49 European countries in the annual Rainbow Europe rankings in 2024, with the country achieving an overall score of 76.41 percent for its legal, political, and human rights provisions. The country performed relatively well on most indicators, having particularly strong protections for LGBTI civil society, family rights, equality & non-discrimination provisions, and laws which ensure the gender recognition rights of transgender citizens and residents. Spain performs less well on intersex bodily integrity laws, although it must be noted that relative to most European countries the score of 50 percent is still high.

According to a survey published in 2021, Senegal is the most intolerant country in Africa toward people of different sexual identity or orientation. A total of ** percent of respondents from Senegal stated they would dislike having homosexual people as neighbors. Other countries in which over ** percent of the respondents declared the same were Liberia, Malawi, Ghana, Mali, Guinea, Uganda, and Burkina Faso.

According to survey conducted in eight countries, Spain is the country where people are more likely to identify themselves part of the LGBTQ+ community. It is also the country in which respondents stated more often to have a close friend or relative who is part of the LGBTQ+ community (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, non-binary, among others). Sweden, Germany, Italy, and Denmark, on the other hand, record the highest share of respondents who were neither part of the LGBTQ community nor knew anyone who is part of it.

According to a 2019 survey, 54 percent of respondents from South Africa believed homosexuality should be accepted by society. Recognition of homosexuality in the world was highest in Western European countries, Canada and Australia. Despite Kenya ranking comparatively low in the global comparison, acceptance of people identifying as LGBTQ+ notably increased since 2002. Among the four African countries taken into consideration, the lowest degree of acceptance among interviewees was recorded in Nigeria, at seven percent.

According to a global survey conducted in 2021, three in 10 respondents had at least once spoken out against someone who was being prejudiced against LGBT+ people. In addition, some 13 percent attended a public event in support of LGBT+ people, e.g. a Pride march.

In a global survey conducted in 2023, ***** percent of respondents from 30 countries declared that they were homosexual, gay, or lesbian, with **** percent who identified as bisexual. *** percent of the interviewees said that they were pansexual or omnisexual. Pansexuality describes people who feel attracted to other people regardless of their biological sex, gender, or gender identity, whereas omnisexuality refers to people attracted to people of all gender identities and sexual orientations. Finally, *** percent of respondents were asexual, which means they experience little to no sexual attraction to anyone, regardless of their gender. LGBT people around the world LGBT stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. Introduced in the 1990s, LGBT generally includes anyone who is not heterosexual or cisgender. Heterosexual refers to a person attracted to people of the opposite gender, whereas cisgender describes a person whose gender identity is the same as their sex at birth. Acceptance of other gender identities and sexual orientations is usually higher in Western countries. In a study conducted among 34 countries, acceptance of homosexuality was higher in Sweden, the Netherlands, and Spain. Homosexuality in African countries Worldwide, 71 countries criminalize homosexuality as of 2021, most of which are located in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. In Africa, 32 out of 54 countries criminalize homosexuality. In four countries, the legislation imposed the death penalty for sexual relations between people of the same sex. In fact, in most African countries, homosexuality has low levels of acceptance, or is not accepted at all. In a recent survey, most respondents in Africa showed high levels of intolerance towards LGBT+ in their vicinity.

Réunion was rated the safest travel destination in Africa for members of the LGBT community, according to a 2024 ranking. With eight points, the French overseas department outperformed South Africa, ranking 21st worldwide, while the Southern African country stood in the 38th position. These were the only destinations considered friendly for LGBT tourists in Africa. A country scores less than zero in the index when human rights are not observed, nor guaranteed, or even violated. This means that Angola, Botswana, Cabo Verde, Mozambique, Lesotho, Niger, Seychelles, and Mauritius were far from being considered safe, but were better-rated destinations compared to other countries in the continent.

According to survey conducted in eight countries, Great Britain is the country where people are more likely to support a family member of a friend who would come out as gay, lesbian, or bisexual. The least supportive countries, on the other hand, seem to be Italy and Germany. In Italy, for instance, some 14 percent of respondents stated to be unsupportive, while in Germany, some 14 percent would oppose their friends or family.

Worldwide, 64 countries criminalize homosexuality as of 2024. Most of them are located in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. In 12 countries, the death penalty is imposed or at least a possibility for private, consensual same-sex sexual activity. These countries are Iran, Northern Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Yemen, Afghanistan, Brunei, Mauritania, Pakistan, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, and Uganda.

In 2023, approximately 91.2 percent of the population of London identified as being Heterosexual or Straight, which was the lowest among regions of the United Kingdom. As of this year, approximately 3.5 percent of Londoners identified as being Gay or Lesbian, 1.7 percent as Bisexual, 0.9 percent as Other and 2.8 percent who did not know, or refused to answer.

The statistic illustrates the most visited European travel destinations among gay and bisexual men from the United States in 2019. As of 2019, approximately nine percent of respondents indicated to have traveled to Great Britain, making it the most visited European country among gay and bisexual men from the United States. France was also among the top most visited European countries with seven percent of respondents stating they have traveled there.

The most common response in the European Union among LGBTQ survey respondents when asked to rank their life satisfaction on a scale from one to ten, was to give a score of seven in 2019. This varied from countries such as the Netherlands, Belgium, and Spain, where the most common response was eight out of ten, to North Macedonia, where the most common response was six.

In 2022, about ** percent of male-male couples in the United States were White, compared to *** percent of gay couples who were Black or African American. Gay marriage in the United States In the mid-1990s, a majority of the U.S. population believed that same-sex couples should not be recognized by law, although this figure has been on the decline since then. In 2011, more than ** percent of Americans believed the opposite, saying that homosexual couples should be recognized by law. 2015 saw a spike in support, and on June 26 of that year, the United States Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage in all 50 states in the case of Obergefell v. Hodges. Being LGBT in America The share of Americans who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) has been on the rise since 2012 and it is estimated that there are about *********** same-sex couples in the U.S. Additionally, about **** of surveyed people in 2019 believe that one is born gay or lesbian – a significant increase from 1977, when only ** percent of respondents said the same.